Draft Minutes of

Last KCC Meeting

KIRKMAIDEN COMMUNITY COUNCILMINUTES OF MEETING HELD ON TUES 4THDECEMBER 2018PRESENT: (chair) L. Appleton, J. Ansell, M. Donaldson, C. McIntyre, A. Scott, A. McNally, P. Henthorne.ATTENDING: 35 members of the public, PC N. Wilson, Councillor R. Surtees.APOLOGIES: Suzanne Campbell, Councillors W. Scobie and A. Giusti The Chair, Louise Appleton, welcomed all to the meeting. On behalf of the community she expressed the shock and distress felt over the tragic events of the previous weekend, when Jim and Susan Kenneavy lost their lives. KCC will send a formal letter of condolence and flowers to the family. Louise then called for a minute’s silence, after which she formally thanked the members of the emergency services (represented at the meeting by police and coastguard) and all who had taken part in the search.MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING: Minutes of the meeting held on the 6thNovember were agreed as a true record. Proposer: J.Ansell, Seconder: P. Henthorne.MATTERS ARISING:Following the presentation by representatives of SP Energy Works and Keltbray Distribution and Transmission at the previous meeting, satisfactory reports of the work so far were received. The courteous behaviour of those involved in the work and the timely delivery of promised generators were noted. The work is scheduled for completion in the 3rd week of December, and restoration of any damages as far as is possible has been promised. An email of appreciation to be sent to both companies.Copies of a document giving feedback on the ward event discussion the provision of library services were tabled. Kerry Monteith and Andrew Giusti propose holding a follow-on meeting to take matters further sometime in the New Year. It was suggested that a Wednesday in late January/early February would be suitable. A copy of the feedback document will be placed on the ‘I Love Drummore’ Facebook page.It was reported that the street lights at Cooks Brae, Port Logan are still not working properly. Ros Surtees promised to follow this up.The discharge near the Coastguard Station at Drummore appears not to be a Council or South West Water problem. The Coastguard station is not on mains water, and this would appear to place the responsibility for enforcement with SEPA or Environmental Health. To be followed up.POLICE MATTERS: PC Nicola Wilson reported on several incidents. On the 11th November, a crashed vehicle was found at the A716/B7065 in Port Logan. A man has been charged in connection with this.Vandalism has been reported at New England Bay caravan site. As the site is closed for winter, the exact timing of this is undetermined.An attempted housebreaking with intent was foiled recently at Pans Farm, Ardwell. Local residents are asked to be aware that burglars may be operating in the area.Attention was drawn to another telephone scam in which a Stranraer resident lost £20,000 following a call purporting to come from BT. Nicola left a number of leaflets prepared by the police containing advice for people to take away, and asked that all be aware that no legitimate company would ever ask for bank details over the phone or by email.Finally, she read a statement detailing what the police knew so far about the events surrounding the deaths of Mr and Mrs Kenneavy last week.Ros Surteees noted that any counselling and welfare support that the community might require would be made available and that she would act as point of contact.GROUP REPORTS AND UPDATES: Planting of new bulbs had been completed and the Gateway Garden was now in a state of ‘hibernation’ for the winter. A good article in the current edition of ‘Our Wigtownshire’ highlighted the work of the Information Centre and its plans for the future.A representative of D&G’s Business Gateway was due to look over the Harbour with Alex Peebles to determine next steps. The ‘Business Gateway’ will advise on business development and access to future funding.Peter Henthorne noted that the Christmas Tree Festival at St Medan’s Church would begin with a concert at 7.30pm on Friday the 7th December, with the church open for viewing and refreshments on Wednesday the 12th and Tuesday 18th December from 2-4pm. Over 30 local organisations have contributed small trees to this event, which is in aid of church building funds.CORRESPONDENCE & PLANNING. John Ansell reported that Gordon McKeand of the community safety team had been in touch and that it was hoped to organise a presentation from the team at the next Community Council meeting in February.Kerry Monteith and Clair MacFarlane of the Solway Firth Partnership are organising a beach clean at Clanghie Bay, Port Logan. The intention is that volunteers will walk in on the path past the fish pond and that the rubbish will be removed by boat to skips at Port Logan. The event will be held on the 10/11/or 12 December and if successful could become a part pf SFP’s regular programme. See the Solway Firth Partnership Facebook Page for details.Rhona Davies of Dumfries and Galloway Art’s Festival wishes to organise a meeting in the Rhinns to hear from Lou Davies, Manager of DGAF on the possibilities of bringing arts events to the Rhinns. Angela Bower suggested that the Millennium Centre in Stranraer (currently undergoing refurbishment) may be a good venue for the Rhinns as a whole. Such a meeting is likely to take place sometime after Christmas. The church hall in Drummore was also put forward as a venue.There will be a Third Sector Roadshow in Wigtownshire to showcase how to identify and apply for project funding. This will take place between 10am and 3pm on the 11th December in the Macmillan Hall in Newton Stewart.Kerry Monteith has drawn attention to the fact that with an increasing probability of flooding, individuals and business owners are expected to take some responsibility for protecting their property and has suggested the following website (www.dumgal.gov.uk/media/17891/Leaflet-Flood-Protection-Products/pdf/Flood_Leaflet_Jan_2018) as giving details of a number of products designed to help.Letters of condolence following the recent tragedy were received from councillors Ros Surtees and Willie Scobie.OPEN DISCUSSION. Following on from the previous week’s incident, a discussion ensued as to what may be done to mitigate the risk of similar tragedies in future. A number of aspects of the problem were raised; warning signage, the state of the road and the sea defences, the possible use of barriers and the state of the alternative route. The following is a brief summary of the points raised and any tentative conclusions. Alex Peebles asked if the community would be given any feedback in the way of recommendations from the Procurator Fiscal’s report into the accident. PC Wilson said that while a report would definitely be given to the family, she would check to see if the Procurator Fiscal would share her conclusions with the community. Dumfries and Galloway council have been approached on previous occasions regarding the problems of flooding and abnormal tides on the stretch of road at Drummore Bay. Two years ago, KCC were informed that there were no funds available to tackle the problem but signs stating that the road was liable to flooding were erected. D&G were approached at least as long ago as 2009 asking for better signage. It was suggested that signs with amber flashing lights, which could be activated when there was present danger, could be placed at the Logan Toll junction and somewhere close to the exit from Drummore village. Local people would be expected to understand the risks indicated, but tourists may not be so aware. There was also a question of who would be responsible for activating such signs and on what information. The possibility of installing barriers at these points was also raised: only the properties at Grennan require access from the Low Road; all others can be accessed from roads branching from the Port Logan - Drummore road. The fact that these side roads all give access to the Low Road was noted. The possibility of having a manned coastguard vehicle blocking the road at critical times was also raised, possibly a way of dealing with some of the doubts about barriers.

The state of the road and the sea defences at Drummore Bay were discussed. The sea wall is being undermined in places; in others it is almost level with the road and provides no protection. Large stones thrown onto the road by storms are only moved aside, not removed, thus adding to the problems. It was also noted that there was no practical turning spaces for larger vehicles (such as camper vans) at either end of Drummore Bay. While it appears that something may have been scheduled to improve the sea defences over the next year, this might be predicated on outdated assessments of the severity and frequency of storm and tide events. Finally, the alternative road, between Port Logan and Drummore was raised. It is narrow, with many blind corners and unsuitable for heavy or high volume traffic and is a poor alternative to The ‘A’ class road, which is in itself unfit for purpose. Louise noted that it seemed likely that the road along Drummore Bay would increasingly resemble a tidal causeway, and asked if we could learn any lessons from how traffic was managed at HolyIsle in Northumberland. Some practical steps can be taken immediately. Peter Henthorne will get in touch with the organisers of the ‘South-West 300’ to ask them to put a notice on the website that this road can be dangerous and should be avoided in conditions of high tide and storms. Ros Surtees will find out what the status of the shore defences plan is and whether a review and upgrade of the plan is possible. There was a strong feeling that larger, more emphatic signs with flashing lights when there was a high level of risk would be useful, but that drivers must take responsibility for respecting the signs.ACCEPTANCE OF THE ‘AMENDED SCHEME FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMUNITY COUNCILS’. The amended scheme which has been some 9 years in development is available for reading on the website at: www.dumgal.co.uk/communitycouncils . The new scheme outlines the duties and responsibilities of Councillors and procedures for all aspects of the running of Councils. Two major improvements are that if the number of Councillors proposed at an AGM are less than the maximum permitted (11) then no elections will be necessary, and that the minimum number of meetings allowed will be 5 plus the AGM. In accordance with the notification at the last meeting, it is proposed that the Amended Scheme, which now operates as the Constitution for all Community Councils in Dumfries and Galloway will be adopted by Kirkmaiden Community Council on 4th Dec. 2018 and signed by Louise Appleton as Chairperson of Kirkmaiden Community Council and witnessed by John Ansell. The Amended Scheme was duly adopted.AOCB. Peter Henthorne reported that Ted Beck had suggested erecting some kind of a memorial to Mr and Mrs Kenneavy. After some discussion it was agreed that it was too soon to contemplate such a move, especially since there had been several tragic deaths in the community in recent years for which no public memorials had been created.Martin Donaldson asked if it were possible that KCC could make a donation to the Christmas lights at Port Logan. Robert Stewart pointed out that in previous years Port Logan Village Hall committee had received £200 direct from D&G Council towards the Christmas decorations in the village. Martin agreed to go back to the treasurer of the village hall committee for clarification. The issue of rocks deposited by storms on Port Logan harbour was raised and deferred to the Councillor’s and KCC surgery on the following day.Louise Appleton on behalf of the Community Council wished a happy festive season to all the residents of Kirkmaiden.The meeting closed at 9.00pm.The next meeting of the Community Council will be in the Church Hall, Drummore at 7.30p, on Tuesday, 5thFebruary.

Agenda for meeting 5th February

•Chair persons welcome•Sederunt appologies•Minutes of last meeting•Matters arising•Police matters•Treasurers report•Goup reports and updates•Correspondance/planning•AOCB•Date and time of next meeting